Tag Archives: Environment

Water Waste and How to Combat it

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When people consider waste in regards to sustainability, they often consider physical garbage far before they consider water waste.  Water waste, however, is a major sustainability issue as, even though it doesn’t take the water out of the water cycle, but instead removes the water from being accessible and usable by humans.  It is also wasteful since it overly expends the energy used to deliver the water, such as in the overuse of the dishwasher or washing machine.   On the whole, water waste could lead to humans having less usable water readily available and can also take such water away from the environment.  As per the DOH, the average person wastes 30 gallons of water every day; some of this waste is due to human tasks, such as overly long showers and leaving faucets on while they are not being used.  Other reasons for water waste include issues such as unrepaired household leaks.  According to the EPA, the average household can waste 180 gallons of water a week from household leaks alone, which is 9,200 gallons of water wasted every year.  While this waste is very common, there are many methods that people can implement in their day to day life to combat this issue.  First and foremost would be to check their households for the aforementioned leaks and have them repaired to prevent any further issue.  Other simple tasks include turning off the tap when brushing teeth, which would save 8 gallons of water a day, and therefore 2,290 gallons of water a year.  One last common occurrence that would save water in the average household is running the dishwasher only when completely full; this alone would save 320 gallons of water per household per year.  Water waste is a common, overlooked issue, but by changing the way we implement some household tasks, we can save many gallons of water from being wasted every year.

 

https://www.epa.gov/watersense/how-we-use-water

https://www.epa.gov/watersense/statistics-and-facts

https://www.wtamu.edu/~cbaird/sq/2014/09/23/does-wasting-household-water-remove-it-from-the-water-cycle/#:~:text=Rather%2C%20wasting%20water%20hurts%20humans,away%20from%20the%20natural%20ecosystem.

Money Given To Wastewater and Drinking Water Infrastructure Projects In New York

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Good news for New York State. On April 7th, the Governor of New York State announced that the State Environmental Facilities Corporation Board of Directors has approved more than $189 million in funding for nine municipalities and public authorities for critical wastewater and drinking water infrastructure projects. The purpose of these projects is to modernize the water systems to ensure safe drinking water for all New Yorkers. The nine municipal regions are the Capital Region, Central NY, Mid-Hudson area, Long Island, Mohawk Valley, New York City, the North Country area, and the Southern Tier area.
The Environmental Facilities Corporation is urging municipalities to participate in the Environmental Protection Agency Clean Watersheds Needs Survey which was kicked off in New York on March 1.

This should improve the water systems in New York over time.

https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-hochul-announces-189-million-fund-water-infrastructure-projects

Wasting water and resources is much easier than you may think…

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Humans and animals drink a lot of water daily. It is critical to our survival, but the way that we choose to drink water has a huge impact on sustainability. An example of animal consumption of water is a cow. A cow can consume up to 100 gallons of water per day. One huge form of water waste is the production of clothing. It takes about 2700 liters of water to make the average t-shirt, which is clearly a huge amount of water waste to make one t-shirt. One pair of jeans takes about 7600 liters of water to produce, which means that it takes 10,300 liters of water to make a simple outfit. This also means that thrifting even just one outfit will save about 10,300 liters of water! It would be even better if people kept thrifting to decrease the amount of clothing production that has to occur around the world, therefore decreasing the waste of water. We can all wear clothes that are already in the world instead of buying new ones as a more sustainable option. 

Additionally, I think that bottled water is so popular because it is convenient. I know that my family members who use plastic water bottles just think that they make life easier because they can throw them out when they are done and they do not need to take care or keep track of a reusable water bottle. The average person drinks about four water bottles per day and because there are about 2,700 people (about 2,100 students and 600 faculty and staff members) on Union College’s campus, there are about 10,800 bottles of water consumed on the campus. Water bottles are about one liter of liquid, meaning that I estimate that 10,800 liters of water are consumed on Union’s campus. It takes 1 liter of oil to create four water bottles. I estimate that the amount of oil needed to produce the 10,800 bottles of water would be 2,700 liters of oil, which means that a lot of fossil fuels need to be burned for this production. Transporting the water also uses a huge amount of oil. It depends where the water comes from, but a ten hour plane ride uses 150,000 liters of oil which would clearly add to the fossil fuel emissions used to produce water bottles by a large amount. 

 

Citations: https://www.peta.org/features/california-drought-stats/

https://greenactioncentre.ca/tip-of-the-week/14-ways-to-reduce-water-waste/

https://blog.arcadia.com/how-many-water-bottles-does-one-reusable-bottle-save/

Rising Co2 levels impact on human health

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When researching rising levels of CO2, it’s easy to find topics such as climate change and how that may affect the environment as we know it.  However, what’s not talked about throughout the media often is the affect the rise of Carbon dioxide has on human health.  In fact,  CO2 levels of 1,000ppm have been found common in small confined spaces, such as classrooms, offices, bedrooms, and planes.  Now this may not seem that important, but carbon dioxide levels over 1,000ppm can cause inflammation as well as reduced cognitive function, and those levels are not that hard to pass within the confined spaces that I mentioned.  Chronic Exposure  levels from 2,000ppm to 3,oooppm can cause even worse damage such as kidney calcification and bone demineralization.  When thinking about the environment, and how climate change is impacting the world, that also causes quite the dilemma when it comes to human health as well.  Air pollution kills 9 million people every year, and as the temperature rises, the problem only gets worse.  In a 2008 study, rising levels of CO2 can cause the temperature to go up by 1 degree celsius, causing ozone damage which can kill 22,000 people due to asthma or some sort of respiratory illness.

I think human health is very important to note since there are still quite a lot of people who do not believe in climate change still to this day.  Possibly bringing up the fact that CO2 levels rising can directly affect one’s health may shine a light on the subject, since the affect on the environment may not be enough.  It’s very evident to see that within the media there’s been a rise in hurricanes and fires, and ticks have been increasingly apparent due to climate change.  Although these are little things at the moment, it’s only a matter of years before there’s irreversible damage to the planet as well as people’s lives.  Hopefully with more outlets supporting the negative impact climate change has on human health, more people can be aware and acknowledge the dangers.

 

work cited:

https://www.businessinsider.com/how-atmospheric-carbon-dioxide-affects-health-2018-5

https://www.niehs.nih.gov/research/programs/climatechange/health_impacts/index.cfm

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2020.543322/full

 

Carbon Dioxide Levels are Increasing Yearly

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Carbon dioxide has a heavy impact on the atmosphere of the Earth and is proven to affect climate change, global warming, and the ecosystems for the future. With the increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, this is an issue to the energy imbalance which leads to the Earth’s temperature to increase; global warming. Due to human interactions and human life, there will always be carbon dioxide being released in different forms into the atmosphere, but there needs to be a way to reduce this amount of carbon dioxide for the wellbeing of the human population and the earth. If it continues to rise with the amounts of carbon dioxide, the human population and the land we inhabit will be in trouble due to temperature and destruction. What can be attested to this rise of earth’s temperature is the burning of fossil fuels: coal, oil, and gas, that all release greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere. This has been studied heavily and due to the amounts of greenhouse gasses being pushed yearly, this is not normal or necessary. In a USA Today article reporting on the carbon dioxide emissions it states, “In the past 20 years, the world’s temperature has risen about two-thirds of a degree Fahrenheit,” which may not seem impactful, but this constant rising of temperatures will be detrimental without changes being made. Just hearing that global carbon dioxide emissions have reached the highest level in history, should be alarming and should incite awareness and sustainability ideas. To preserve the environment we live in and increase recycling, renewable energy sources, and reducing emission is crucial. As the world shifts back to a “normal society” after recovering from Covid-19, there needs to be a change from the Pre-Cvoid Era where human population abused the amount of fossil fuel use. There needs to be an alternative to burning coal in order to have factories, cars, and businesses be run. Coal has been the issue of 40% of the overall global carbon dioxide emissions in 2021. One idea we can look toward is electric car batteries and also the rise in use of solar panels.

 

Works Cited

 

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2022/03/08/global-carbon-dioxide-emissions-soar/9429433002/

Fossil Fuels and Human Health

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We talk a lot about fossil fuels, greenhouse gases, and how the impacts they have on the environment. Something that is not often talked about, however, is the impact of fossil fuels on human health. According to an article published by the NYU School of Law, the burning of fossil fuels and the inhalation of the subsequently polluted air contribute to several health conditions, including, but not limited to: asthma, cardiovascular disease, and preterm birth. What’s more, the article states that “if fossil fuels were completely eliminated, the global average life expectancy would increase by 1.1 years”. The article then goes on to describe the effects of burning fossil fuels, and different variations of pollutants. The thing that interested me most about this article was the mention of a study done in Southern California, where diminished levels of particulate matter (mixture of solid particles and liquid droplets) and nitrogen dioxide over a 21 year period lead to 20% fewer cases of childhood diagnoses of asthma. This is just one of many examples of how fossil fuels and greenhouse gases effect both the environment, the world around us, and humanity as a species.

Sources Cited:

https://www.law.nyu.edu/centers/state-impact/projects-reports/projects/climate-and-health/health-effects-of-burning-fossil-fuels

Carbon Dioxide and its Influence

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When it comes to greenhouse gases and the presence of them in our environment, there is quite a large variety of different kinds of greenhouse gases. Just to name a few greenhouse gases, there is methane, nitrous oxide, water vapor and more. Nevertheless, the most important greenhouse gas is carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is not only a gas. Depending on different temperatures, carbon dioxide can also be in the solid or a gas form. It is important to note that carbon dioxide does not come from just one particular entity. For example, carbon dioxide is breathed out by humans. Furthermore, carbon dioxide is produced after burning fossil fuels. As humans, we all have different responses to carbon dioxide based on our own specific tolerance. One’s tolerance depends on the amount of carbon dioxide present, which is measured using mathematics along with units and numbers.  Reactions to an exposure of carbon dioxide can vary from headaches to convulsions or even a coma. Thanks to basic human activity, there has been a drastic rise in the presence of carbon dioxide, as we know thanks to scientists measurements in which numbers and units were used. The starting point for the steep rise in carbon dioxide producing, human activity, can be traced back to the Industrial Revolution. Although human activity is practically unavoidable, carbon dioxide’s presence must be modified in order to keep us, along with our Earth, safe.

Works Cited:

“Carbon Dioxide.” Wisconsin Department of Health Services, 3 June 2021, https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/chemical/carbondioxide.htm.

“Carbon Dioxide Concentration.” NASA, NASA, 15 Mar. 2022, https://climate.nasa.gov/vital-signs/carbon-dioxide/.

Carbon Dioxide and its effects on Coral Reefs

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Carbon Dioxide is a powerful greenhouse gas that has been at the center of political discussions surrounding Climate Change. As humans release more CO2 into the atmosphere, the “Greenhouse Effect” causes the earth’s temperature to rise, having devastating consequences for life on earth. While much of the CO2 stays in the atmosphere, a huge amount of the gas is absorbed into our oceans. This has terrible consequences for life on the seas. Coral Reefs have taken the brunt of this damage. Coral Reefs are dying at an increasing rate. This is a major problem because “Coral reefs specifically contribute to more than half of the oxygen our planet relies on, and these are vanishing at an unprecedented rate” (Gannon). This will have terrible consequences for other forms of life, as well as for humans. Unbelievably, “Over 2,838,240 acres of coral reef are lost every year, totaling an area 10x the size of New York City” (Gannon). This is a terrifying figure. Regardless of whether people want to admit that this is going to have terrible consequences for humans, it will. Human beings need to come to the realization that as a global community, we need to figure out a way to reduce the amount of CO2 being released into the atmosphere.

 

Works Cited:

https://reefrevive.org/reefcrisis?gclid=CjwKCAjwi6WSBhA-EiwA6Niok3YkXou-JfFjIx84rGg6gZneWHDNWg3uVi8sPbKLgT9G9IlEY3fyBxoCjMkQAvD_BwE

 

 

Climate Change Due to Increase of Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide

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Carbon dioxide (measured in parts per million or ppm) is a greenhouse gas that impacts the heat regulation of the Earth, impacting the climate change that we see today. The increase of atmospheric carbon dioxide is specifically responsible for about two thirds of the Earth’s rising temperatures and energy imbalance, contributing to the change in global climate patterns also known as climate change. Certain human activities like driving a car emit carbon dioxide. Additionally the usage of fossil fuels emits large amounts of carbon dioxide into the air which traps heat in the atmosphere, causing global warming. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic decreasing people’s activity (especially during the heights of the pandemic where many people were not traveling by plane or car) and the economic slowdown, the global level of carbon dioxide hit a new record high in 2020 of 412.5 parts per million (ppm). Another concerning point is that humans are adding a lot more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than is naturally produced and can be accommodated for. The global growth rate or atmospheric carbon dioxide is now 2.3 ppm per year and is about 100 times faster than previous historical natural increases in carbon dioxide. According to these measurements, the human impact on the plant and the excessive amounts of carbon dioxide emissions are impacting climate change and the overall temperature and well being of Earth. There are ways for us to decrease carbon dioxide emissions such as carpooling, decreasing leisure flight usage and doing simple things such as turning off the lights. 13% of the greenhouse gas production (including carbon dioxide emissions) in the Unites States are from the production and transportation of food. So it is also important to eat local and organic food to help decrease the excessive carbon dioxide production. According to these articles, the production of carbon dioxide is rapidly increasing, but there are simple ways that we can all help decrease our carbon footprint (the total amount of greenhouse gases we produce from our actions) and help global climate change.

 

Citations:

https://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/climate-change-atmospheric-carbon-dioxide

25+ Ways to Reduce Your Carbon Emissions

First Detection of Reduced Human Carbon Dioxide Emission

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There is a first for everything and for the first time researchers have found short-term regional fluctuations in atmospheric carbon dioxide worldwide due to emissions from human activities. Scientists used a combination of NASA satellites and atmospheric modeling to discover this change in Carbon Dioxide emissions. The study used data from NASA’s Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 to measure drops in CO2 emissions during the COVID-19 pandemic from space.

A few earlier studies investigated the effects of lockdowns on the levels of Carbon Dioxide emissions early in the pandemic. The studies found that global levels dropped slightly in 2020. Nonetheless, by combining OCO-2’s high-resolution data with modeling and data analysis tools from NASA’s Goddard Earth Observing System the team was able to narrow down which monthly changes were due to human activity and which were due to natural causes at a regional scale. This is how they were able to conclude that some of the drops in Carbon Dioxide levels were caused by human activities. The article goes on to explain what Carbon Dioxide is, and how to notice slight changes in its level in the atmosphere.

References

Evans, Jessica Merzdorf. “First-of-Its-Kind Detection of Reduced Human Carbon Dioxide Emissions.” Phys.Org – News and Articles on Science and Technology, Phys.org, 1 Apr. 2022, https://phys.org/news/2022-04-first-of-its-kind-human-carbon-dioxide-emissions.html.